New Book Announcement Letter
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11 June 2003
Dear Researchers:
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Compilers Eloise Leach and Alma Hutchins and the Indian Territory Genealogical and Historical
Society are announcing the completion of their book, RECORDS FROM THE REED-CULVER
FUNERAL HOME, 1909 - 2000, TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA.
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The information for this book came from approximately 40 manuscript books of records of the
Reed-Culver Funeral Home which began as Reed Funeral Home in Stilwell, Oklahoma in 1918.
In 1921, Reed-Culver Funeral Home opened in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The earliest records
[1909-1916] were compiled by Mr. Hougland, an earlier undertaker in Tahlequah. These books
later passed into the hands of the Reed-Culver Funeral Home. The earliest records were very
sparse on information, including the given names. In many cases, the cemetery was not
listed, the date of death was not listed, etc. There were many pages which were missing
from the pre-numbered books. If the names of the deceased appeared in the original books’
indexes, we included them and the page numbers, but the actual pages and information were
not found in the original books. However, this will give you an approximate time of death.
In some cases, the information was included with the name of the deceased, but across the
page was found "VOID" or a large "X". We do not know why this was done; perhaps another
funeral home was eventually used.
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The information from the books was entered into a computer. The names of the deceased were
sorted into alphabetical order - A-Z. The book was printed in that order.
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Spelling is always a problem in research. One can find the same parents listed with different
spellings for their names. The compilers wrote the information as it appeared in the original
book. There were obviously errors. Check all possible spellings for names. Another problem
was legibility. A ? indicated that the compilers were unable to verify the spelling. The
name may have been originally misspelled, ink might have faded, etc. One will also find the
? in front of the mother’s name when only her last name was given in the maiden name area of
the page. The given name was not always listed.
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There was also a problem with name changes. For example, earlier families used the name
Rattlinggourd. Later generations used Rattlinggourd, Rattling or Gourd. One would need to
check both the R section and the G section to find these names.
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Arrangement of data is as follows:
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The name of the deceased.
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Remarks - miscellaneous information such as parents’ names, birth dates, birth places,
location and date of funeral if not in Tahlequah, etc. Parents’ entries are by given name
of father followed by given and [maiden names] of mother and last name of father if all
information were listed.
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Date of Death
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Age at Death [some dates do not calculate correctly - compilers wrote what was written
in the books]
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Cemetery [Note that many pages did not list a cemetery at all; usually,
only cemetery names were given - not counties, states, or other identifying information. In
checking this we found cemeteries with the same name located in as many as three different
counties. We do not know in which county or even state many of the cemeteries were located.]
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Book - indicated the beginning and ending years of the volume in which the name was found.
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Page numbers within the books on which were located each entry. In one case [1975-1977],
two books were found which duplicated most of the names; however, some of the information and
page numbers were different between books. Both books were included with the designation of
1975-1977A for the book which seemed to be the original book; 1975-1977B to designate the book
that appeared to be a copy of the original book.
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Below is a sample entry: |
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The compilers began the project in June 2001 and sent it to the printer in May 2003.
The book is 450 legal-sized pages of data which represent over 15,700 names of deceased.
It is bound with plastic comb binding. It covers entries from 1909 through 2000. The price
of the book is $50.00 including tax. Shipping and handling, if mailed, is an additional
$5.00.
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The Society also has available, while supplies last, Jerri G. Chasteen’s and the Indian
Territory Genealogical & Historical Society’s OUR PEOPLE AND WHERE THEY REST: MASTER
INDEX to the 12 volumes by James W. Tyner, Maxine H. Tyner and Alice Tyner Timmons. The
361-page, soft-bound index was printed in 1995. In combination with the REED-CULVER
book, the OUR PEOPLE AND WHERE THEY REST: MASTER INDEX can be purchased for an
additional $10.00 + $1.00 handling and postage.
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To
order
, please send money orders or checks made out to:
Indian Territory Genealogical & Historical Society
c/o University Archives
John Vaughan Library
Northeastern State University
711 N. Grand Avenue
Tahlequah OK 74464
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Thank you.
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Indian Territory Genealogical & Historical Society
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